Jackson is confident his new-look Dons squad can succeed

Mark Jackson has faith in the rebuilt MK Dons squad that they can escape the clutches of the relegation zone.

Outside the bottom four on goal-difference, Jackson faces a difficult month of February, with games against Bristol Rovers, Oxford United, Bolton Wanderers, Sheffield Wednesday, Ipswich Town and Lincoln City.

But with five new additions to his side, and the existing squad beginning to get used to his methods and expectations, Jackson is confident of a turnaround.

“We’ve now got a squad of players that are beginning to get an understanding of how we want to play,” he said. “We’re becoming more consistent in our actions and the players are working really hard towards that.

“I’m seeing that progress being made really quickly on the training ground. We’ve seen it in games too but now what we’ve got to try and do now is turn those positives into points and that’s the focus that we’ve all got.

“That’s the focus that we’ll continue to drive with going forward for the rest of the season. I’ve got full belief we can do that.

“I’m delighted with the signings that we’ve brought into the Club and I’m happy and confident in the players we’ve got now.

“We feel like we’ve got a good balance in key positions and the competition we now have enables us to push players to empty the tank, knowing that we’ve got ready replacements to come off of the bench and fill those roles for the remainder of the game.”

Working on his first transfer window

With the transfer window closing on Tuesday night, Dons completed their business with the signing of Anthony Stewart - their fifth capture of the month.

While Liam Sweeting is considered the lead when it comes to recruitment, Jackson said he has worked well alongside the Sporting Director, and was impressed by what he saw behind-the-scenes.

He said: “Me and Liam (Sweeting) have been working closely together for the whole window, along with a team of staff as well. I couldn’t believe the amount of detail that the guys here go into when looking at the players and the amount of video that is watched.

“There is a real collaboration of ideas, bringing together all that information that is collected, and that has been impressive for me to see first-hand in my first window.”